MANCHESTER, N.H. – Freshman Taylor Coons (Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass.) tallied a goal and an assist to lead the Saint Anselm College field hockey team past Assumption College, 4-3, Saturday afternoon at Grappone Stadium.
The Hawks now stand at a 4-7 overall record and improve to 2-2 in the Northeast-10, while the Greyhounds, who came in winners of six of their last seven, are 6-6 overall, 4-2 in conference play.
Assumption jumped on the board quickly, scoring just over two minutes into the game when Kiley Colucci sent a pass to Sarah Frahm, who sent the ball rocketing into the back of the cage, staking claim to a 1-0 lead.
The Hawks answered back just over a minute later when Eliza Jalbert (Providence, R.I.) started a corner play by striking the ball to the top of the circle where senior Nicole Guimond (Fairfield, Maine) settled the ball for Elizabeth Sears (Danvers, Mass.), who fired it into the right side of the cage.
The Greyhounds were next to score in the 34th minute when Paige Anderson drew out Saint Anselm goalkeeper Megan Sullivan (Braintree, Mass.) before dishing a pass behind Sullivan on the right side of the cage to Austen Theroux who put it away, making the game 2-1.
Assumption would then increase its lead to two when Anderson dribbled into the circle and beat freshman goalkeeper Shauna Whittemore (Bennington, N.H.), who started the second half, to the right side.
Saint Anselm would then score three straight to seal the 4-3 win. At 44:45, Nicole Rugan (Chelsea, Maine) took an initial shot that was saved by Assumption goalkeeper Lauren Neilan before Colleen Sears (Danvers, Mass.) gathered up the rebound and scored her first collegiate goal to put the Hawks within one.
The Hawks tied it up in the 51st minute when Coons initiated a corner play on the left, sending the ball to sophomore Bridget Davis (Mansfield, Mass.), whose hard shot found the back of the cage. The assist was Coons first collegiate point.
Coons wasted no time also scoring her first collegiate goal. Less than two minutes later at 52:16, senior Kristina Katsikis (Hanover, Mass.) tapped a pass from the middle of the circle toward the right post for Coons, who knocked it in to give the Hawks the one-goal edge.
Sullivan and Whittemore each made three saves in 35:00 of action, while Neilan stopped seven shots.
Saint Anselm outshot Assumption, 15-12, including 10-6 in the first half. Saint Anselm also led in penalty corners with 15, while Assumption had 10.
The Hawks return to action Tuesday Oct. 2 as they play host to Franklin Pierce in a 7 p.m. contest under the lights at Grappone Stadium. For more information on the Hawks please visit our website at www.saintanselmhawks.com. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by friending us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/STAHawks) and following us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/STAHawks).
